Panchsheel shall guide India-China relations

Published: September 5, 2017 - 14:44

At the BRICS summit, India and China met for the first time since Doklam, both countries reaffirm their commitment to peace

The Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping have reaffirmed their commitment to peace. Meeting for bilateral talks at the 9th BRICS summit in Xiamen, China, it was the first time that both leaders were meeting after the Doklam impasse came to an end last week.

At the bilateral meeting the Chinese President said, “China is prepared to work with India and also to seek guidance from the five principles of Panchsheel.” In the presence Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and state counsellor Yang Jiechi.

The Indian Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar, after the meeting has said, in continuance of Panchsheel, that a ‘common ground’ should be found to deal with the difference between India and China.

This development is one of the two major developments that have taken place at the summit. The first was the joint declaration that condemned Pakistan based terrorist outfit Jaish e Mohammed (JeM). The Chinese side however has defended the Xiamen Declaration and tried to suggest that it is more linked to violence and ground situation in Afghanistan. It is for the first time China allowed BRICS to make any reference to Jaish-e-Mohammad.